A jury in Greenville, South Carolina, has found Ariel Robinson, a Food Network contestant accused of killing her adopted daughter at their home, guilty of murdering children on Thursday afternoon, according to local reports.
Robinson, 30, and her 35-year-old husband, Jerry Austin Robinson, were arrested and charged with murdering children in January 2021 after the death of their 3-year-old adopted daughter, Victoria Torrey Rose Smith, county records show. Greenville. Austin pleaded guilty last month to aiding and abetting murder by child abuse.
The jurors discussed for about an hour and a half before ruling after a four-day trial. Robinson has been sentenced to life in prison, FOX Carolina reported.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office said last year that Smith had died from blunt force injuries, according to a medical examination.
Ariel Robinson picked up the witness on Thursday and burst into tears when asked what it’s like to live with Smith. The winner of season 20 of “America’s Worst Chefs” described the 3-year-old as a “perfect kid” who is easy to get along with, according to the publication.
Prosecutors say the Robinsons fatally beat Smith on January 14, 2021, when police found the girl unanswered at their home. Greenville County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Ward, a forensic pathologist, testified Wednesday that the young child was beaten with such force that her blood vessels burst, allowing blood to collect in muscle and fat, which can led to her death, FOX Carolina reported.
Robinson described Victoria Rose Smith as a “perfect child” with whom we get along easily. Instagram
“If we lose enough blood, the heart doesn’t have enough volume to pump,” he said.
Earlier, Austin Robinson told authorities that the fatal beating came on January 13, 2021, when he said Smith had returned to church service and Ariel was angry with the child.
Witnesses Gene Smith and Avery Santiago testified Wednesday that they saw Ariel and Smith undressed in the church bathroom while Ariel tried to clean the girl’s dress in the sink. Smith said she asked Ariel if Smith was ill, and Ariel apparently told her that the child “ate too much and made him vomit,” calling it a “game.”
Santiago testified that she heard Ariel say to Smith, “Oh, you’re cold. You’re cold. Girls who fight to vomit deserve to be cold,” according to FOX Carolina.
“I was disappointed,” Ariel said Thursday when asked about the church incident.
Austin, who took the witness stand on Tuesday, testified that Ariel would be angry at Smith’s eating habits and beat her with belts or a wooden paddle.
“Sometimes I took a piece of (her) food just to help her,” the 35-year-old said, according to FOX Carolina.
Victoria Rose Smith was beaten with such force that her blood vessels burst, which allowed the blood to collect in muscle and fat, said a forensic pathologist.Instagram
Airel, a former teacher, won $ 25,000 after winning the Food Network competition, which pits amateur chefs against each other in a series of cooking challenges watched by famous chefs. Deadline reported.
Episodes of her season are no longer available for streaming on Food Network’s online platforms, including Discovery +, Hulu and YouTube.
Change.org’s petition of nearly 46,000 signatures calls on South Carolina lawmakers to pass a bill called the Victoria Act, which will reform “the current screening process to become not only an adoptive parent but also a foster parent.”
“We want frequent unscheduled home visits by foster parents and adoptive parents, even after the adoption is finalized,” the petition said in a statement. “We want the Guardian Ad Litem and workers [sic] to talk privately with the children in these homes so that they have the opportunity to ask for help if they need it. ”
In a Twitter thread posted on Jan. 6, Robinson said that while her black-and-white children were treated the same way in her house, “it won’t be like that” when they go out into the real world.
“It’s a shame that as a proud mother of 4 beautiful boys, I can’t protect them from the reality and evil of this world after they leave the house. However, I will fight and use my voice to make a difference. Let’s bring awareness and change so that one day this change will come, “she continued. “I am a mother bear and I will do everything to protect my children and make sure that their future is just as bright [because] they have the same opportunities and are treated as equals in the way God made them. There should be no #whiteprivilege just American privilege. #EqualityforAll #BlackLivesMatte[r]”
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